Federal judge allows Conyers on ballot even though he didn’t have the signatures, natch

posted at 7:21 pm on May 23, 2014 by Mary Katharine Ham

Remember when this happened for Rep. Thad McCotter, thus ensuring that he would remain in the House of Representatives even though he didn’t collect the signatures state election law requires to get on the ballot? No? That’s because it didn’t happen. Nor should it have, even if the signatures hadn’t been determined to be partially fraudulent. There are rules in place well before the primary, and incumbents like McCotter and Conyers are and should be well aware of them. But Conyers’ story has a different ending than McCotter’s.

Today, Rep. John Conyers lost his ballot appeal with the state elections board because he came up 400 votes short for being on the ballot in the primary. At that time, his people said he planned to wage a write-in campaign. But several hours later, a federal judget came to the rescue because as soon as Conyers can’t manage to meet this rather simple threshold after almost 50 years in office, it’s now unconstitutional, or something.

Conyers needed 1,000 petition signatures to get a spot in the Democratic primary. But many petitions were thrown out because the people who gathered names weren’t registered voters or listed a wrong registration address. That left him more than 400 short.

But Leitman’s injunction said a Michigan law that puts strict requirements on petition circulators is similar to an Ohio law that was struck down as unconstitutional by a federal appeals court in 2008.

Leitman said the free speech rights of Conyers and the circulators were harmed, an argument pressed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

There’s evidence that the failure to comply with the law was a “result of good-faith mistakes and that (circulators) believed they were in compliance with the statute,” the judge said.

Conyers, 85, told WXYZ-TV,”I’m trying not to smile openly much but this is very good news, and it’s also good news for the process.”

What other long-standing rules and regulations hurt Conyers’ free speech rights, I wonder, by preventing him from doing whatever the hell he wants whenever he wants to?

If Conyers doesn’t make the ballot and loses his write-in bid, it would represent another blow to Michigan’s congressional seniority. The state could lose roughly 190 years of congressional seniority at the end of this year.

Democrat John Dingell, the Dean of the House, is retiring after nearly 60 years in the House. GOP Reps. Dave Camp and Mike Rogers, with a combined 38 years of seniority, aren’t seeking reelection, either.

Democratic Sen. Carl Levin is retiring after his sixth term in the upper chamber. Rep. Gary Peters, who has served six years in the House, is locked in a difficult race to succeed Levin.

Comments

Rep. Thad McCotter, thus ensuring that he would remain in the House of Representatives even though he didn’t collect the signatures state election law requires to get on the ballot? No? That’s because it didn’t happen.

Remember when this happened for Rep. Thad McCotter, thus ensuring that he would remain in the House of Representatives even though he didn’t collect the signatures state election law requires to get on the ballot? No? That’s because it didn’t happen.

It also turns out that McCotter (or his campaign) fraudulently forged about 1,500 of those.

When Bob “the Torch” Toriccelli was nailed on blatant corruption charges 30 days before the general election in New Jersey a while back, he dropped out of the race. The New Jersey constitution said that the ballot could not be changed within 45 days of the election. But the leftist New Jersey Supreme Court came to the rescue, and allowed the Dems to bring Frank Lautenberg out of mothballs and put him on the ballot, the constitution be damned.

Rules are for sheep. Republican sheep. The leftist judges will always ride to the rescue of Dems in trouble.

they don’t even hide it anymore. What do they teach at law school since, it seems, laws do not seem to be considered anymore. Being a judge used to be a mark of honor. Now it is just some political hack with a diploma.

The previous comment was hanging. Why is ping.chartbeat constantly tracking, loading and slowing things down on Hot Air? I’m sure Ed or AP can find less intrusive ways of tracking who is coming and going than using chartbeat.

The previous comment was hanging. Why is ping.chartbeat constantly tracking, loading and slowing things down on Hot Air? I’m sure Ed or AP can find less intrusive ways of tracking who is coming and going than using chartbeat.

First, “being denied use of non-registered, non-resident circulators, they were required to allocate additional campaign resources to gather signatures and were deprived of the solicitors (political advocates) of their choice. This in itself can be an injury to First Amendment rights. Second, “because they were prohibited from using non-registered and non-resident circulators, they were limited in the choice and number of people to carry their message to the public.” Ibid. As Meyer makes clear, limiting the size of a candidate’s audience and reducing the amount of speech about his views that he can generate is a cognizable injury. ”

With Leitman’s ruling, barring a successful appeal, Conyers avoids what could have been an embarrassing end to a 50-year career in Congress in which he became a leading voice for liberals and civil rights.

This law is in no way unconstitutional because it does nothing to prevent Conyers from running. It has to do with whether his name appears on the ballot in the Democratic primary, but not whether he is able to run. This ruling is beyond idiotic. I hope it is appealed.

This law is in no way unconstitutional because it does nothing to prevent Conyers from running. It has to do with whether his name appears on the ballot in the Democratic primary, but not whether he is able to run. This ruling is beyond idiotic. I hope it is appealed.

NotCoach on May 23, 2014 at 7:53 PM

That’s not quite right. The reason it was held unconstitutional is because have a first amendment right to choose who you want to circulate the petitions to get you on the ballot. Michigan requires that those people be registered voters in Michigan apparently in order to avoid fraud. The court said there are less restrictive means of preventing fraud than requiring that the circulators be registered voters.

Unfortunately, MKH didn’t take the time to link to the opinion (or, it seems, read it). Here you go.

The interesting thing going ahead is Conyers’ district is something like +45 Democrat, so there’s no question the ‘D’ nominee will be elected in November. Which means this is a Democrat-vs.-Democrat battle. So it will be up to Conyers’ opponent, Rev. Horace Sheffield, to challenge the legality of the judge’s ruling, with no Republican in sight in this battle.

The previous comment was hanging. Why is ping.chartbeat constantly tracking, loading and slowing things down on Hot Air? I’m sure Ed or AP can find less intrusive ways of tracking who is coming and going than using chartbeat.

That’s not quite right. The reason it was held unconstitutional is because have a first amendment right to choose who you want to circulate the petitions to get you on the ballot. Michigan requires that those people be registered voters in Michigan apparently in order to avoid fraud. The court said there are less restrictive means of preventing fraud than requiring that the circulators be registered voters.

Unfortunately, MKH didn’t take the time to link to the opinion (or, it seems, read it). Here you go.

And Nader v. Blackwell, the Ohio law this dumb a$$ judge is referring to, had to do with out of state signature collectors. But guess what? Ohio still requires signature collectors from the state to be registered voters.

Conyers needed 1,000 petition signatures to get a spot in the Democratic primary. But many petitions were thrown out because the people who gathered names weren’t registered voters or listed a wrong registration address. That left him more than 400 short.

That’s not quite right. The reason it was held unconstitutional is because have a first amendment right to choose who you want to circulate the petitions to get you on the ballot. Michigan requires that those people be registered voters in Michigan apparently in order to avoid fraud. The court said there are less restrictive means of preventing fraud than requiring that the circulators be registered voters.

Unfortunately, MKH didn’t take the time to link to the opinion (or, it seems, read it). Here you go.

themuppet on May 23, 2014 at 7:57 PM

Seriously, what is less restrictive than requiring someone to be registered to vote? Tell us.

And Nader v. Blackwell, the Ohio law this dumb a$$ judge is referring to, had to do with out of state signature collectors. But guess what? Ohio still requires signature collectors from the state to be registered voters.

Seriously, what is less restrictive than requiring someone to be registered to vote? Tell us.

NotCoach on May 23, 2014 at 8:04 PM

If you read the opinion:

In particular, the State may require a petition circulator to “accept the jurisdiction of this State for the purpose of any legal proceeding or hearing initiated … that concerns a petition sheet executed by the circulator” and require that the circulator agree “that legal process served on the secretary of state or a designated agent of the secretary of
state has the same effect as if personally served on the circulator.” MCL § 168.544c(4), as amended by Public Act 94 of 2014, effective April 3, 2014. In fact, that is exactly what the State did earlier this year with respect to individuals
wishing to circulate petitions for referenda, constitutional amendments, and certain political offices elected statewide, including President of the United States and the United States Senate. It eliminated the need for these petitioners to be registered voters. See id.